This invention relates to a seat belt device for vehicles and more particularly to an improved three-way seat belt for vehicles.
Since the seat belt of a three-way type seat belt device is located on one side of the rear of the seat and is located apart from the passenger seated in the seat, the passenger has to twist his body and extend his arm to put on the seat belt, an inconvenient procedure for the passenger. Particularly in a two-door vehicle, the door of which usually is large, the pillar, which retains the seat belt, is located far behind the seat; therefore, the distance between the passenger and the seat belt is increased so that seat belt fastening operation is even more inconvenient.
Various improvements have been proposed to alleviate such inconveniences. According to one exemplary improvement disclosed in Japanese Lay-Open Print No. 52-121020, a belt guide arm is raised diagonally beside the seat in conjunction with the movement of the seat to draw out the seat belt, and the belt guide arm is adapted to be laid down and housed in a horizontal position behind the door. However, this seat belt device is unattractive in respect to its appearance, since the belt guide arm is raised diagonally beside the seat and projects into the passenger space when the seat belt is fastened. In another exemplary seat belt device disclosed in Japanese Publication No. 57-24599, the seat belt is moved forward and rearward along one side of the roof in conjunction with the movement of the seat. However, this seat belt device also is not deemed to be the best in respect of the facility of a passenger in getting into and out of the vehicle. Also loading and unloading luggage from the vehicle is inconvenient, since the belt hangs down vertically in the middle part or in the front part of the door opening when the seat back is inclined toward the front. Still another seat belt device has been proposed in Japanese Lay-Open Print No. 53-56624, in which the belt is held by a seat belt holding hook provided on the shoulder of the seat back to allow the passenger to extend his arm to the shoulder of the seat back to catch the belt. However, the operation of this device is troublesome in the two-door vehicle, since the belt has to be released and engaged every time when the seat back in inclined for getting passengers into and out of the rear portion of the vehicle. This invention has been made to overcome such disadvantages of the conventional three-way seat belt devices as mentioned above and such disadvantages of the improved means of the prior art.